Catharsis
by bittersweetmelodie
Summary: Catharsis - the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. Weiss, Yang, and a handful of heart-to-heart talks. Weiss/Yang.


**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters and places belong to Rooster Teeth.

 **A/N:** I call bullshit on Weiss's "I know we're not as close" line. There were _so_ many implied instances of Yang and Weiss interacting with one another. So yea, have some Yang and Weiss comforting each other.

* * *

 _I._

"I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her. The innocent never run, Yang."

"She deserves the benefit of the doubt, Weiss. This is Blake we're talking about, after all. I'm sure that whatever she's done, she has her reasons."

"The White Fang, Yang. The White Fang! How is it that we missed it?"

"Don't you think there's a reason she hasn't said anything to us? Maybe she knew you would react badly. So she's a Faunus? What's the big deal? She's still Blake – she's our friend, and she deserves the benefit of the doubt. _Especially_ at a time like this, when she needs her friends the most. I don't know what your history is with the White Fang, or what they've done, and I won't pretend like I do, but she must have had a reason for joining them, just as she must have had a reason for leaving them."

"Stolen dust, hijacked transport trucks… How could she have been a part of that, and then looked me in eyes and acted like she was my friend?" Her lips trembled as the tears threatened to fall. "She was my friend! I would have given my life for her, and – and – I'm not mad because she's a Faunus. But she was White Fang. She put my family and me through so much misery for _years_. How can she spend all that time with me, _knowing_ who my family was, and pretended like none of that ever happened?"

"We've all done things that we regret. I'm sure you've had your fair share of incidences that you wish you could make disappear from your memories. I almost got my sister killed because I was dumb and reckless. And maybe Blake was too – maybe she really thought that what she was fighting for was right, without really thinking of the consequences. Who knows how long it's been since she was part of the White Fang? We've all grown and she's probably not the same person she was back then.

"And… I think this is exactly what she was afraid of – us finding out who she was, about her past, and shunning her because of it. You… you kind of proved her right, Weiss. I'm not saying that it's your fault that she ran away, or that you aren't justified in your reaction," she added hastily when Weiss glowered angrily at her. "But you didn't even _listen_ to what she had to say."

"She _ran away_. She didn't exactly offer an explanation before she disappeared. Not that I would have been in the mood to listen," she admitted, biting her bottom lip.

"Let her explain when she comes back, then. Let her tell you why she joined the White Fang all those years ago, let her explain why she left. Just _listen_ to her. She's probably hurt and angry. Try to put your hatred for the White Fang aside, and just be there for her. You have to be able to separate her from the White Fang – their ideals are not necessarily the same as hers."

"Let's just hope that she _does_ come back," Weiss whispered. "What if I drove her away for good?"

"You didn't drive her away – she's just afraid of what we might think of her. Maybe she's a little angry, but when she calms down, she'll come back. And then you guys can talk it out. Aaand that's probably her now." Yang pulled her vibrating scroll from her pocket. "Oh, it's Ruby. Hey, sis," she said, pressing her scroll to her ear.

Weiss stared at the ground, wondering how on earth she would convince Blake to come back, after all the mean words they had exchanged.

"They found Blake," Yang said as she hung up. "They're by the docks right now. Come on. You can do this, Weiss. Just _be there_ for her – she needs the support the most right now."

"Okay," she exhaled. She tugged Yang's arm gently. "Just… thanks. For acknowledging why I was angry, instead of blaming me for making her run away."

"We don't know your past, just as we don't know Blake's, and you deserve the benefit of the doubt just as much as she does, Weiss. We're your friends too – we'll always have your back, and I know you'll have ours."

* * *

 _II._

"Yang, this is a stupid idea," Weiss said. "Yang! This is what ladders are for!"

"C'mon, Ice Queen, we don't have time to go dig out a ladder from the storage room – wherever _that_ is."

"This is _really_ dumb."

"I heard you the first time! And the second. And the third. Just hurry up and put up the stupid streamers!"

Weiss huffed from where she was sitting, barefoot, on Yang's shoulders, hunched over Yang's head. She had one arm wrapped tightly around Yang's neck so that she wouldn't fall; her other hand was clutching a roll of streamers. "You want me to _stand on your shoulders_ while you walk around the cafeteria so that we can hang _streamers_ for the dance. This is, by far, the stupidest idea you've had. And you've had _a lot_ of bad ideas."

"Ice Queen, we don't have all day. Just stand up and tape the stupid streamers to the walls so we can get this over with! Besides, _you're_ the one that wanted streamers. We could have easily just left them out."

"Alright, alright, fine!" She placed a hand on the top of Yang's head and pushed herself up, one foot on each of Yang's shoulders. "I'm just saying, this is a really, really dumb idea." She moved shakily to stand on her tiptoes, struggling to reach up and tape the end of the streamer where the wall met the ceiling.

"See? Easy as pie. Now onto the next one!" She started walking.

Weiss, who was still standing on her shoulders, had nothing to hold onto for stability, and when Yang started walking, she lost her balance. "Yang, I'm gonna –" she flailed her arms uselessly in the air as she tried to regain her balance, but to no avail. Before either of them could fully comprehend what was happening, Weiss had landed on the floor with a loud, resounding _crash_.

"Weiss!" Yang knelt down next to her and gently lifted her up by her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh," Weiss groaned. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "I _told_ you this was a dumb idea."

Yang laughed and held her hands up in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. You sit down, while I go get the ladder and some ice for your head. You okay?"

Weiss grabbed the hand that Yang offered her, and let her puller her up. "I'm fine – just go get the stupid ladder so we can finish the decorations."

Yang led her to the nearest table and forced her into the chair. "Don't even think about doing anything until I get back."

 **-x-**

"So, Neptune, huh?" Yang teased as she climbed the ladder, a handful of streamers in her hand. "Never took you as the type to fall for the playboy."

Weiss flushed in embarrassment. "Sh-shut up! He's nice, okay? And unlike _some_ people I know, he actually cares about school. He's actually really smart – did you know he's one of the top students at Haven? And he _did_ beat you at Remnant, remember?"

Yang glared at her. "I didn't need the reminder, thank you very much."

"And what about you?" She asked, taking the first chance that she could to steer the conversation away from herself. "Now that you've convinced Blake to go, are you going ask her to go with you?"

"No," Yang said, pointedly looking away. She fiddled with the streamer in her hand. "Why would I?"

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're hardly subtle, Yang," she said matter-of-factly as she fiddled with the controls on the fog machine (she had been confined to her chair after her fall, and wasn't allowed to do much else). "I've seen the way you look at her when she's not looking."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yang…" She had never been good with words, and she certainly was not very good with _emotions_. Growing up in a household where talk of feelings (or talk of anything but training, really) was looked down upon did not lend well to situations like this one. In fact, it had left her more or less emotionally stunted. So instead, she chose to take the offensive route, and said, "You're not allowed to ask me about Neptune, and then shut me out when I ask you about _your_ love life."

Finally Yang looked up, a sad smile on her face. "I think she's going with Sun."

"Oh," Weiss said, taken aback. She made a face. "The monkey Faunus? I didn't think he would be her type."

"Well, apparently he is," she said bitterly. She flopped down, taking a seat on the top of the ladder. "She went to _him_ when everything fell apart. We're her teammates – she could have come to any of us, but she chose to go to him."

"To be fair, I think my reaction was the exact reason why she didn't want to come to us."

"It doesn't matter." She shook her head. "It's just a stupid crush."

"It's not _stupid_. It sucks, yes, but your feelings are not stupid. Blake is stupid if she doesn't want to date you."

Yang gave a watery snort. "No, she's not."

"She is," Weiss insisted. "Why wouldn't she want to date you? You're kind. Beautiful. The sunniest, warmest personality I've ever seen. You have the uncanny ability to make everybody around you happy." She rose from her seat and walked over to Yang. She placed a reassuring hand on her knee. "She'll come around."

"No. No, she probably won't. And as long as she's happy, I should be happy for her, right?"

Weiss shook her head. "You're allowed to be sad that you don't – that she doesn't –" she let out a frustrated sigh. "You shouldn't feel obligated to be happy for her. You're allowed to be sad that she doesn't like you back. And if she doesn't see how great you are, then she doesn't deserve you. Somebody else is going to come along, and see your warmth and happiness, and they'll give you so much love that you don't know what to do with it – that's the kind of love you deserve."

Yang gaped openly down at her teammate – Weiss was usually closed off and cold ( _Weiss cold_ , she had said to Ruby once, much to the younger girl's chagrin). She never had a nice thing to say about anybody. "Who knew the Ice Queen had so many kind things to say about me?" Yang teased.

"Hmph," she huffed. "Just because I don't say anything, it doesn't mean I don't think it. You're – I don't know; I'm just not used to seeing you sad. You're the one who's always making others smile, and you're always smiling. I guess none of us stopped to think that sometimes you need to be cheered up too. Don't expect it to happen again though!" She shook her finger in Yang's face. "I've used up my niceness quota for the next three months!"

Yang let out a bark of laughter and threw an arm around Weiss's shoulder, ignoring the way that she stiffened slightly. "There's the Ice Queen we all know and love. Now I believe you have somewhere to be going."

"The dance is tomorrow, Yang, and we haven't finished hanging up the streamers yet. I hardly think that now is an appropriate time for me to go anywhere." She stood up and grabbed the roll of streamers out of Yang's hand. "Come on, let's finish this so we can leave."

Yang snatched it out of her hands. " _You're_ not allowed to exert yourself right now. What you're going to do is go find Neptune so you can ask him to the dance. And make sure you bring back a good story to tell."

"I'm not leaving you here to finish the decorating by yourself," she said indignantly.

"Weiss, I just need to finish hanging the stupid streamers. And you can't help with that, so go! At least one of us should get to bring a date to the dance."

She hesitated as she turned towards the exit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine! Don't worry your pretty little head. Now go, shoo."

"Alright, alright. I'm going," she grumbled.

"And Weiss?" Yang called after her.

Weiss paused halfway to the door and turned back to Yang, giving her a questioning look.

"Thank you."

 **-x-**

Weiss tried to cover her disappointment with a smile as she trudged across the campus towards the dorms.

"Yang!" she yelped, jumping backwards when she saw her teammate leaning against the wall just outside their dorm. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I waited up for you. You know, to hear the juicy gossip. Like, did you guys kiss under the moonlight? Did he jump into your arms the minute you asked? Come on, Weiss, tell me!" Yang paused when she didn't get a response from the white-haired girl. "Weiss, what happened?"

"Nothing happened. He said no."

"He said _what_? That son of a –" Yang grumbled. She pulled her arm back, and the telltale _click_ of Ember Celica being loaded echoed in the empty hallway. "I'm going to pummel him into the ground."

"Yang, no! It's just a stupid crush," she echoed Yang's words from earlier in the evening. "It's not worth you getting suspended or expelled!"

"He made you sad!" Yang pointed out. " _I_ think that's plenty reason for me to beat him up. I'm sure Professor Goodwitch would understand."

"No, she really wouldn't," Weiss said dryly. "And I didn't threaten to punch _Blake_ in the face for making you sad."

"That's different!" Yang slumped against the wall, letting her arms fall to her sides, and gave a defeated sigh. "I guess we can wallow in our heartbreak together."

"Yea… Yea, I guess we can," Weiss said, deflating as she leaned against the wall next to Yang.

Yang slung an arm around her shoulder. "At least we have each other, yea?"

"Yea," she said, leaning her head on Yang's shoulder. "We'll always have each other."

* * *

 _III._

Yang laughed as she launched herself at Weiss, landing on her and sending Myrtenaster flying across the training room, stopping her mid-attack.

"Yang!" Weiss complained as she tried to push her off. "That's not how you're supposed to fight."

"Pft," Yang snorted. "I managed to disarm you, didn't I? That puts me at a slight advantage, Ice Queen. And I'm good with hand-to-hand combat."

Weiss flailed her arms futilely and started apprehensively at her partner when she started smirking. "What –" she stopped midsentence and let out a small shriek of surprise when Yang dug her fingers into her side. "Stop that! Get off me!" she yelped through her giggles, shoving at Yang's arms.

"Not until you admit that –"

"You chose the _heiress_ to fight in the double's round?" Cardin's voice, arrogant and full of disdain, echoed loudly through the training room, cutting Yang off midsentence.

A hush fell over the students who were training, and although Cardin's words were directed at Ruby, everybody stopped what they were doing to see how Team RWBY's leader would react.

Yang could feel Weiss stiffening under her. "Weiss?" she asked. She pushed herself up and held her hand out to help her partner up. When she didn't get a reaction out of her, she glanced down to see what had her so distracted, to find Weiss staring across the room. Following her gaze, she saw Ruby, who had stopped her spar with Blake and turned towards Cardin, the blade of Crescent Rose dangerously close to his neck.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"You heard me," he sneered. "She's just a Schnee who can barely fight. You might as well just forfeit the match now."

Weiss clenched her fist, and unknowingly activated her Semblance.

"Weiss!" Yang yelped when a Glyph appeared beneath her.

"Sorry!" Weiss said, releasing the Glyph. She looked away in shame. "I – um – kind of lost control for a second," she admitted. She took Yang's proffered hand and pulled herself up. "Damn it! How am I supposed to win if I can't even keep my emotions in check?"

Yang gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before releasing it. "You're fine. You're more than fine. You've got this, Weiss. Cardin's just being stupid, as always. Don't let him get to you." Despite her words though, Yang could feel the anger building in her chest as each word fell from Cardin's mouth.

"I mean, can she even do anything worthwhile? She seems so useless. I don't think I've ever seen her do anything right without the help of her team."

Yang could feel the rage starting to rise. Her eyes flashed red and she clenched her fists so tightly that her nails left imprints on the palms of her hands. "That little brat," she grumbled.

"Yang…" Weiss said in a warning tone. She pulled Yang's hands towards her and gently pried her fingers open to loosen her fist. She didn't let go until she felt Yang relax. "It's not worth it."

Yang took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly she let the fire in her chest die off, and she released her other fist. She glanced down at Weiss, who gave her a weak smile in an attempt to appear unaffected by Cardin's words. But to Yang, it was obvious that it had upset her, even as she tried to hide it behind her usual stoic demeanour.

"She probably just bribed her way in. Her fighting is terrible, and she's a shitty person. Everybody knows she's just here because of her name. You made a terrible decision."

Finally, she snapped – Yang _knew_ that Weiss didn't want to be defined by her name, that she was doing everything in her power to try and right the wrongs that her father had done, and she knew Cardin had hit a sore spot.

"What did you say?" Yang's angry voice boomed across the entire training room, causing everybody else to freeze. Ignoring Weiss's plea of ' _Yang, no!'_ , she launched herself across the room, propelling herself towards Cardin with Ember Celica at the ready.

"Yang!" Weiss screamed, chasing after the girl.

Yang flew past Ruby and Blake's surprised faces, and punched Cardin in the gut, sending him flying into a nearby rack of swords. "Don't you ever talk about Weiss like that again! She's twice the fighter you'll ever be! You don't know how to do anything. All you do is belittle people and put people down to make yourself feel better about yourself. You're despicable."

Weiss grabbed Yang's arm and tried to pull her back. "Yang, stop!" she pleaded. "It isn't worth it."

"You're lucky Weiss is a better person than I am, or all your bones would be broken," Yang hissed, her arm still raised in an offensive position.

"What is going on in here?"

Everybody froze when Professor Goodwitch appeared at the entrance of the training room, arms crossed and icy eyes glaring at them over the rim of her glasses.

"Miss Xiao Long?" she asked when she saw Yang's offensive stance.

"He deserved it," she sulked. She slowly let her arm drop back to her side.

"It was my fault!" Weiss blurted out before Professor Goodwitch could say anything.

Yang turned at gaped at her. Of the four of them, Weiss was the one that prided herself with following school rules, and having a good reputation with their professors.

"It's kind of you to try and take the blame, Miss Schnee, but you never were one for hand-to-hand combat," she said, glancing critically over to where Cardin was lying. "Miss Xiao Long, in my office. Now. You three, bring Mr. Winchester to the nurse's office," she barked at the rest of Team CRDL.

"But … but." Weiss stared helplessly as Yang followed their professor out of the training room.

"Aw, she'll be fine," Ruby said good-naturedly. "This won't be the first time she's gotten detention for losing her temper. Come on, you can spar with me and Blake until she gets back."

Weiss hesitated, biting her bottom lip (a bad habit that her father and sister were always chiding her for, but that she had never really managed to break). "You guys go ahead. I'm going to go and make sure Yang is alright." Without waiting for a response from her two teammates, she took off after Yang and Professor Goodwitch.

 **-x-**

"You shouldn't have done that," Weiss grumbled as she took a seat next to Yang on her bed.

Yang crossed her arms stubbornly and narrowed her eyes. "He deserved more than that one punch."

" _You_ didn't deserve detention." She sighed, pulling Yang's hand toward her so she could inspect the damage. She shook her head. "It's not the first time I've heard something like that, and it certainly won't be the last. It's just something that comes with being a Schnee – it's something that I've just learned to ignore." Satisfied that Yang's hand hadn't suffered anything serious, she let it drop back down to the bed.

"It doesn't make it okay. And you don't ignore it – it actually bothers you, doesn't it?"

Weiss stiffened imperceptibly. "No."

"You're allowed to not be perfect all the time, y'know."

Weiss turned away, staring at the door of their dorm room. "I'm far from perfect, Yang. And really, I've dealt with words much harsher than Cardin's. My father… is not the most loving person, and nothing I've ever done has been good enough for him. He made it very clear how he felt about my incompetence. So maybe Cardin's right. Maybe I _am_ here because of my name and money, and not because I'm good enough."

"No. You're not allowed to think like that," Yang said, clearly thrown by the girl's words. This was not a side of Weiss that she had seen before – this insecure, vulnerable girl who looked so small and defeated. She always gave off an air of confidence and superiority. But Yang knew better than anybody how easy it is to hide behind a façade of false bravado. After all, hadn't she spent years and years pretending to be fine after her mother abandoned her?

"But what if it's true? I'm really not a good fighter. I – I spent years in my sister's shadow, never quite good enough. There's always something I'm not doing right." She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. "My stance is wrong, I'm holding my sword wrong, I left myself open to an attack – there was always _something_. Maybe my father was right. I barely scraped by the entrance exams – why did I think it would be a good idea to represent Team RWBY in the doubles round?"

"You are so strong, Weiss. You've grown so much since your first day at Beacon. Even then, you were strong – you managed to stop my sister from being Nevermore food, remember? You helped us investigate a corrupt organization and we took on the White Fang. And remember the hordes of Grimm that we took down? Do you think we could have done all of that without you there? You're an important part of this team. If we didn't think you could handle it, we wouldn't have voted for you."

"That's – that's probably the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me," Weiss admitted. "Usually people are criticizing my fighting, not praising it. Thank you." The last part was said in a whisper so soft that Yang wasn't quite sure she'd heard it.

"What was that? Did the Ice Queen just _thank_ me?" Yang teased in an attempt to make the other girl laugh – or at least smile. She nudged her gently in the side.

Despite herself, Weiss felt her lips tipping upwards into a smile. "Shut up." She bumped Yang's shoulder with her own. "Really, though. Thank you."

"Aww, you know I'm always here for you, Weiss – we're all here for you. All you have to do is ask."

* * *

 _IV._

"No!" Weiss screamed as Yang fell to the ground. "Yang!" She ran over and knelt next to the girl. She winced when her knees came into contact with the thick, red liquid. "No, no… Don't you die on me, Yang!"

Yang tried to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace of pain. She reached a hand up and cupped Weiss's cheek, marring it with blood. "Sorry, Ice Queen," she breathed out. "I don't – don't think I'm going to – make it."

Weiss ripped a good chunk off the bottom of her skirt and clumsily pressed it against Yang's wound in an attempt to stop the blood flow. "No, no. You're not dying. You can't die." She looked around frantically, praying that somebody – anybody – would be able to stop the girl in front of her from bleeding out. But everybody else was preoccupied with fighting off Grimm, fighting off members of the White Fang, fighting off Salem and her faction. Nobody was available to help, and Yang's life was seeping out of her.

"Weiss," she breathed out. She gave her a weak smile and took Weiss's hand in hers, ignoring the fact that she was removing the only thing slowing the blood from gushing out. She gave her hand a gentle squeeze before it went slack and the life faded from her eyes.

"No!"

Weiss jolted awake, her forehead covered in a cold sweat. She looked around her, panicked, only to find that she was in bed, in a hotel room in Mistral, where she had been staying since they had taken Salem down. They would probably all be there until the kingdoms had communication and transportation back up and running – not that she minded. She had no intention of leaving the three girls who had basically become her family. She glanced over at the other bed, where Blake was sound asleep, wrapped up in Sun's arms. It looked like she was the only one having trouble sleeping.

She placed a hand over her racing heart and tried to slow her erratic breathing. Had it really just been a nightmare? It had all felt so real – the gravel crunching underneath her shoes, the slickness of the blood on her hands, the way Yang squeezed her hand before she –

Weiss's stomach rolled at the thought of Yang dying, and she bolted into the bathroom, emptying her stomach of her dinner into the toilet. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and let out an unsteady breath.

' _No,_ ' she thought to herself as she flushed the toilet. ' _It was just a dream. Yang is safe, in her room, sleeping_.' But despite _knowing_ that Yang was safe, Weiss couldn't shake the dream from her mind, like the image of Yang's life fading was burned into the back of her mind.

With trembling hands, she rinsed out her mouth before exiting the bathroom. She stumbled blindly in the dark towards Yang and Ruby's room. She hesitated at the door that joined the two hotel rooms, her hand on the doorknob – it was the middle of the night and they were probably sleeping. But she _needed_ to make sure Yang was there, safe and sound. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and tiptoed inside.

Ruby was sprawled across her bed, snoring softly. Her blankets were askew, but it didn't seem to bother her. Weiss reached over and gently tugged the covers back up, tucking them gently under Ruby's chin.

Yang, however, appeared to be having more difficulty sleeping peacefully than her younger sister; her face was contorted into a grimace, and she was clutching her blanket with a ferocity that Weiss had only ever seen her use in battle. Silently, she padded over to the other bed. She knelt down next to the sleeping girl and covered Yang's hand with her own, giving her a reassuring squeeze. She gently rubbed circles on the back of her hand until she relaxed and released her grip on the sheet.

Yang bolted upright in bed with a sharp gasp, nearly ramming Weiss's forehead with her own. She looked around, a wild panic in her eyes. When she realized that she was back in her room in Patch, the panic faded away into a tiredness of a person who hadn't had a good night's rest in days.

"Yang?" Weiss whispered.

"Weiss!" Yang said, forgetting that it was the middle of the night, or that Ruby was asleep in the bed next to hers. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered. "I – um – I had a nightmare and…" she trailed off, unsure of how to tell Yang that she had seen her _die_.

Yang shook her head. "You didn't wake me. I had a nightmare too." She swung her legs over the side of her bed and got up. "Come on, I'll make us some coffee."

Weiss trailed after her into the kitchen. She sat down in one of the chairs and watched silently as she bustled around the kitchen, putting coffee grounds and water into the coffee pot.

Once the coffee pot was running, Yang turned back to Weiss. "So… Do you want to talk about it? Your nightmare."

"It was just a nightmare," she whispered. "I shouldn't have woken you for it."

"Weiss, it's never _just_ a nightmare, trust me. I've been having nightmares for months since – well, since I lost my arm. Those are fewer and far in between now, but they used to haunt me constantly. The worst kinds of nightmares are the ones that stem from some kind of reality – something that did happen or something that _could_ happen, that you fear _will_ happen. After all that we've been through, we all have plenty of things that our mind could twist into a nightmare. And the haunted look on your face – that feeling of dread that isn't going away – makes me think you had one of those nightmares."

Weiss clasped her hands together and stared down at them.

"It helps, you know. To talk about it with somebody."

"I – I saw you die," Weiss blurted out. "During the battle, you died, and I couldn't stop it."

"Oh," Yang said, clearly taken aback.

"It was so real. I wanted – I _needed_ – to make sure you were fine. I really didn't mean to wake you – you look like you haven't slept in days." She fiddled with the hem of the oversized t-shirt that Yang had lent her, unable to meet Yang's eyes.

Yang pushed herself off the counter and strode over to Weiss, taking a seat next to her. She took one of Weiss's hands in her own and gave her a gentle squeeze, as if the physical action would assure her that she was _alive._ "I'm right here, Weiss. I'm not dead." She placed Weiss's hand over her heart. "Feel that? That heartbeat means I'm alive."

"I know," she whispered. "I _knew_ you were safe, but I panicked and it made me feel better to know – I knew I wouldn't be able to rest without making sure – _really_ making sure – that you were there. I – I don't know what I would do if I lost you, Yang." Her voice broke on the last syllable and she let out a strangled sob.

Yang's eyes softened and she pulled the other girl to her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. "Nobody is dying, Weiss," she whispered into Weiss's hair. "Salem is dead and we're still here – we survived."

Weiss buried her face into the crook of Yang's neck and wrapped her arms around her middle, squeezing her tightly. "I know. I know."

Yang rubbed comforting circles on Weiss's back until her breathing evened out and she had calmed down.

"I think I might love you," Weiss mumbled into Yang's shoulder.

Yang stiffened and pushed her away by the shoulders. "What?" she asked disbelievingly. She stared at the white-haired girl whose cheeks were slowly starting to turn pink.

"I – I –" Weiss stammered. "Any one of us could have died during that battle, and I guess it made me realize that I – um – I wanted to tell you. Being a Huntress is a risky job and if anything were to happen – I just wanted you to know." She backed away from Yang, who was still staring at her. "Oh dust, I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't mean to pressure you or anything. I didn't tell you so that you would – I know I'm not really your type," she said, stumbling over her words as she tried to get everything out.

"Weiss," Yang said, smiling softly. She got up and gently placed a hand on Weiss's cheek. "I need you to shut up so I can kiss you."

"I – oh. Okay," Weiss said dumbly as her eyes widened.

Yang laughed softly. "I don't think I've ever seen you at a loss for words before." She leaned in and pressed her lips against Weiss's in a soft, tender kiss that said everything that she hadn't – I'm here for you. _You haven't lost me_. She pulled away and pressed her forehead against Weiss's, and her came to rest at the crook of her neck. "I think I might love you too."

* * *

 **A/N:** Eh. The first conversation was supposed to parallel the heart-to-heart that Yang and Weiss had in the most recent episode, but I definitely did not do it justice. Hope you enjoyed it! Constructive criticism is always welcome.


End file.
